Tips on Staying Healthy at Thanksgiving

How to Stay Healthy at Thanksgiving

You might not be able to control the Thanksgiving traffic, the topics of table conversation or the football score, but you can feel completely in control of your weight – even with a table laden with delicious seasonal fare! Below are some ideas on how to make your holiday a slimmer one:

If the stress of holiday travel is enough to have you reaching for the candy bars this year, “be prepared!” If you are driving, take a cooler filled with healthy, low calorie and fat snacks for you and the family. Fruit (apples, grapes, oranges), zero calorie drinks, water, healthy bars (Kellogg High Fiber Bars), beef jerky, or air popped popcorn all help to keep the road munchies at bay and you refreshed during your journey.

At gas stations, avoid those chip and snack aisles by bringing a home-made pasta salad along for the ride. Pasta, peas, lean ham and a little cheese – or a sandwich made with 100% whole wheat, lean deli meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes is a great snack.

Is flying in your future? No worries: at the airport, head for restaurants that have salads, baked potatoes, sushi or noodles for filling meals with less calories per mouthful!

Are you the Thanksgiving Day chef in your house? If you nibble as you cook, avoid pre-dinner calories by having vegetable sticks, chopped fruit and berries in reach.

With a feast just hours away, keep breakfast simple – for the cook and for your waistline! Forgo the pancakes, waffles and muffins (it really is worth it!) and create a colorful platter of melon, papaya, pineapple, kiwi and mango with a dip of fat free yogurt sweetened with honey – delicious and saintly!

It’s the calories taken in after the big day that cause the most damage, so cook for one day – not for the week – and enjoy Thanksgiving knowing that leftovers will be given away to friends. Or cook healthy Thanksgiving recipes and fill your freezer with delicious dishes that will last all through the holidays!

Stay active by joining in with community events like a charity walk or run. You’ll be in good company! If you don’t fancy the early start, work up an appetite with a game of soccer in the yard with the kids while the turkey cooks.

The most important thing about Thanksgiving is … to give thanks. It’s a wonderful time for families, friends and fellowship, and although food plays a large part, it’s not the heart of this celebration – you and your loved ones are. Healthy changes that you make for both you and your family – through special celebrations like Thanksgiving and everyday meals together – could be the starting point of a healthier, happier, longer life together; that really is something to be thankful for.

Whether you go for an angelically healthy Thanksgiving or stick with a no-holds-barred celebration, remember that it is just one day. By eating healthily and deliciously during the weeks leading up to and after your festivities, you’ll soon be giving thanks for your new trim figure and your fitter, healthier life.